An on-line news service devoted to museums and exhibitions in New York City and vicinity. John Hammond, Editor Emeritus • Jonathan Slaff, Publisher • copyright © 2007
LORNA SIMPSON
At the Whitney Museum of American ArtBy Glenn Loney
The Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Ave. at 78th St
877-WHITNEYClosing May 6, 2007
Surveying the entire floor-devouring Lorna Simpson Retrospective, one is tempted to think that some of the photographic-suites dominating this or that White-Wall are almost more about the framing of the images than what is inside them.
In any case, Simpson shows a strong sense of Design-Impact in her choice and arrangements of Frames. This is not necessarily a Bad Thing, but it sometimes detracts from the actual images.
What seems to make her Art-Photos especially interesting to Curators--and, surely, to Collectors, as well, once Curators have Endorsed them with Encomiums--is her frequent use of texts with a single photo or a photo-series!
Many of the photos are of quite ordinary subjects, objects, or scenes. That is especially true of her videos. She even favors parts of objects, such as a series of lips or fragments of a body.
Obviously, Lorna Simpson has very good lenses. And a very sharp Eye!
A curatorial-fragment may help explain what is so special about Lorna Simpson's Art: Her works ''…confront and challenge narrow, conventional views of gender, identity, culture, history, and memory.''
And there's more: ''With the African-American woman as a visual point of departure, Simpson uses the figure to examine the ways in which gender and culture shape the interactions, relationships, and experiences of our lives in contemporary multi-racial America.''
Well, there you have it!
